Elections LIVE: 82% voter turnout recorded in Nagaland, 75% in Meghalaya

Over 82.42 per cent of Nagaland's 1,316,000 voters cast their votes on Monday in the Assembly polls, held in 59 of the 60 constituencies amid tight security, election officials said. Polling percentage was 83.85 in the 2018 Assembly polls, and the 2023 turnout is likely to increase after compilation of the reports of the Returning Officers, the officials said. According to election officials, voting was largely peaceful across the northeastern state except some stay incidents of violence, including stone pelting and minor clashes. No major untoward incident has been reported so far. In Akuk village under the Bhandari Assembly constituency in Wokha district, supporters of a candidate attacked the rival party workers using sharp-edged weapons in which three persons were injured. Voting started at 7 am. in 2,291 polling stations, manned by 11,500 staff, and enedd at 4 pm. In Meghalaya, more than 75 per cent of the 2,160,000 electors cast their votes on Monday till 5 pm and the polling was peaceful, Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongor said. The figure is expected to increase as the polling continued for several hours after the scheduled time of conclusion. The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) is contesting to retain power while the BJP, Trinamool Congress and other regional parties are attempting to bring about a change in the government in the northeastern state.